1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to authorizing activities and authenticating individuals, and more specifically, to methods for authorizing information flow to an individual and authenticating an individual for access to information or service based on that individual's social network.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the major benefits of the Internet has been the ease of communicating information to a large number of people. Some users have, however, been abusing this benefit by sending unwanted e-mail solicitations, known as SPAM, to individuals over the Internet. The problem with SPAM has become so pervasive that some states have passed legislation prohibiting SPAM.
Further, the open nature of the Internet has caused providers of content and service over the Internet to place controls on who may access its content or service. The controls are sometimes unnecessarily restrictive and the processes used to grant access tend to be overly cumbersome, to the detriment of both users who might have benefited from the content or service and providers who might have benefited from revenues generated from these users.